According to Mr Girling, things like fees should be taken into account too: "Consumers should look at all costs and special offers over the term, such as arrangement fees, valuation fees and any cashbacks, as well as the initial headline rate," he said.

For example, Chase once offered a StockBack credit card that let me invest cashbacks in a mutual fund, Citibank had a card with which I used to pay Bell Atlantic phone bills and earn rewards, and I can shop and donate to Smithsonian with Discover Smithsonian Card.